Nationwide Arrests for Opioid Fraud & Prescription Abuse

[heydaralon]

Lol I just want to point out GCF that you stated that just because a few refugees out of several hundred thousand did violent shit that number was insignificant. Now out of the tens of millions of worldwide opioid users, when 30,000 or so die every year, you are screaming this is the end of the world. Come on man. I like you, but this is truly ridiculous. Turn off Nancy Grace and Dateline and do some critical thinking.

Not the end of the world at all, and (for at least the fifth time), I don't want the government to ban anything, or arrest doctors.

But something needs to change here.

I just read that 10625 people died in alcohol related crashes in 2015. Thats not even taking into account cirrhosis, alcohol poisoning, domestic abuse and all the other fun things that come with that particular drug. Should something be done about alcohol? You could make a case that it has less of a societal benefit than pain pills because it has virtually no medicinal uses. Idk man, these numbers don't phase me. Our society puts up with all kinds of riff raff and bad stuff, and I would take that any day over moral crusading and draconian police laws. Just my .02.

[heydaralon]

GCF:
Also what about the tens of thousands who die from lifestyle related illness? Should be doing something about Fritolay and Pepsi as well? Is it worse to die quickly from a drug overdose or die slowly in a hospital from some kind of cancer or obesity related illness? I'm not a philosopher so I don't know. But It certainly seems like society doesn't give a rats ass about any of that stuff, even though its basically a slow motion version of pain pills.

[MilSpecs]

The addicts don't start out looking for the drug. The drug is ordered for them by a trusted physician given the mystical power of healing over their bodies. In the case of kids, their parents order them directly to take it. They never had a choice.

There's an alarming trend among mothers now where they're so frightened their kids will get addicted to painkillers that they're refusing to give them after surgery or for very painful medical conditions. It's become a moral panic.

Honestly, that's probably for the best. People don't die of temporary pain. Chronic pain, sure.

It's really not. Studies have shown that people who are allowed to experience unrelieved pain have increased sensitivity to pain for the rest of their lives. There's also a lifetime of remembering that kind of agony, anger at parents for not doing something to help, and the general immorality of allowing a child to suffer needlessly.

[heydaralon]

There's an alarming trend among mothers now where they're so frightened their kids will get addicted to painkillers that they're refusing to give them after surgery or for very painful medical conditions. It's become a moral panic.

Honestly, that's probably for the best. People don't die of temporary pain. Chronic pain, sure.

It's really not. Studies have shown that people who are allowed to experience unrelieved pain have increased sensitivity to pain for the rest of their lives. There's also a lifetime of remembering that kind of agony, anger at parents for not doing something to help, and the general immorality of allowing a child to suffer needlessly.

I heard those evil pharmacists and doctors are giving newborn babies fetuses carfentanyl and then forcing them to turn tricks to pay for their habit.
We need to stop these evil corporations and go against human nature. Lets lock up these addicts who we are trying to save in a jail for 15 years where they will probably be raped and not be able to find a job when they get out. This is genius. Think of the Children! Pain is imaginary, and people who are in pain should not have access to the drugs that will make them feel better because then they will become addicts!

[SuburbanFarmer]

There's an alarming trend among mothers now where they're so frightened their kids will get addicted to painkillers that they're refusing to give them after surgery or for very painful medical conditions. It's become a moral panic.

Honestly, that's probably for the best. People don't die of temporary pain. Chronic pain, sure.

It's really not. Studies have shown that people who are allowed to experience unrelieved pain have increased sensitivity to pain for the rest of their lives. There's also a lifetime of remembering that kind of agony, anger at parents for not doing something to help, and the general immorality of allowing a child to suffer needlessly.

I'm not saying they need to kick the kid when he's down. Just that they don't need to 'be sure to use them all'. Parents should administer the drugs until they aren't needed, then throw it away. This is exactly the kind of change that's needed, imo.

[SuburbanFarmer]

GCF:
Also what about the tens of thousands who die from lifestyle related illness? Should be doing something about Fritolay and Pepsi as well? Is it worse to die quickly from a drug overdose or die slowly in a hospital from some kind of cancer or obesity related illness? I'm not a philosopher so I don't know. But It certainly seems like society doesn't give a rats ass about any of that stuff, even though its basically a slow motion version of pain pills.

Again, change the incentives. It's not 'prohibition or nothing'. Look at the reasons for peoples' depression, and mitigate them.

You can usually trace alcoholism (as an example) to some sort of emotional trauma or need. Native Americans come to mind, and the causes are obvious. Overeating is similar - usually traced to "manly" eating habits, or personal emotional trauma.
Smoking is a different animal, because it doesn't address an emotional need, but acts as a kind of pacifier for adults (I am one of them, I know). Tobacco should probably be banned outright, but if we aren't going to do that, then we need societal change to reject it. That's happening, and it's a good thing, but there's always a self-righteous prick that takes it too far, and makes me want to jab my cigarette in their face.

[heydaralon]

Honestly, that's probably for the best. People don't die of temporary pain. Chronic pain, sure.

It's really not. Studies have shown that people who are allowed to experience unrelieved pain have increased sensitivity to pain for the rest of their lives. There's also a lifetime of remembering that kind of agony, anger at parents for not doing something to help, and the general immorality of allowing a child to suffer needlessly.

I'm not saying they need to kick the kid when he's down. Just that they don't need to 'be sure to use them all'. Parents should administer the drugs until they aren't needed, then throw it away. This is exactly the kind of change that's needed, imo.

The parents should be supervised by law enforcement officers as they are giving the dangerous drugs to the kids so that the parents do not become tempted and become addicted. Doctors should not be allowed to prescribe any kind of medicine because it is possible that it has abuse potential. Every child should have to give random blood samples to ensure they are not using dangerous drugs too. I would also be for putting cameras inside everyone's home, especially the bedroom and bathroom as that is where most drug use occurs. Some people talk about drugs online, so we need to vigilantly monitor everyone's metadata and emails. When you need to go to the store, you need to first contact your local law enforcement office and let them know where you are going so they can follow you and make sure you are not buying pain pills. We really cannot afford to be too careful when it comes to the lives of billions of innocent children.

[Okeefenokee]

It's really not. Studies have shown that people who are allowed to experience unrelieved pain have increased sensitivity to pain for the rest of their lives. There's also a lifetime of remembering that kind of agony, anger at parents for not doing something to help, and the general immorality of allowing a child to suffer needlessly.

I'm not saying they need to kick the kid when he's down. Just that they don't need to 'be sure to use them all'. Parents should administer the drugs until they aren't needed, then throw it away. This is exactly the kind of change that's needed, imo.

The parents should be supervised by law enforcement officers as they are giving the dangerous drugs to the kids so that the parents do not become tempted and become addicted. Doctors should not be allowed to prescribe any kind of medicine because it is possible that it has abuse potential. Every child should have to give random blood samples to ensure they are not using dangerous drugs too. I would also be for putting cameras inside everyone's home, especially the bedroom and bathroom as that is where most drug use occurs. Some people talk about drugs online, so we need to vigilantly monitor everyone's metadata and emails. When you need to go to the store, you need to first contact your local law enforcement office and let them know where you are going so they can follow you and make sure you are not buying pain pills. We really cannot afford to be too careful when it comes to the lives of billions of innocent children.

[heydaralon]

GCF:
Also what about the tens of thousands who die from lifestyle related illness? Should be doing something about Fritolay and Pepsi as well? Is it worse to die quickly from a drug overdose or die slowly in a hospital from some kind of cancer or obesity related illness? I'm not a philosopher so I don't know. But It certainly seems like society doesn't give a rats ass about any of that stuff, even though its basically a slow motion version of pain pills.

Again, change the incentives. It's not 'prohibition or nothing'. Look at the reasons for peoples' depression, and mitigate them.

You can usually trace alcoholism (as an example) to some sort of emotional trauma or need. Native Americans come to mind, and the causes are obvious. Overeating is similar - usually traced to "manly" eating habits, or personal emotional trauma.
Smoking is a different animal, because it doesn't address an emotional need, but acts as a kind of pacifier for adults (I am one of them, I know). Tobacco should probably be banned outright, but if we aren't going to do that, then we need societal change to reject it. That's happening, and it's a good thing, but there's always a self-righteous prick that takes it too far, and makes me want to jab my cigarette in their face.

Smoking kills hundreds of thousands of people a year and lung cancer is an exponentially worse way to go than overdosing! Why aren't you up in arms about tobacco? Here's the thing, you are a reasonable dude and I don't think its a moral shortcoming that you smoke, or even something society really needs to address. You know the risks, and you made a choice. But people never take this approach with drugs. Ever. Its always framed in such a way where it is some evil force that needs to be urgently confronted. I hate that. Everyone knows that pain pills are dangerous, and yet they still use and abuse them. If they overdose, I don't see it being that much different than a smoker dying of cancer. As far as incentivizing healthier behaviors, it never really seems to work does it? Americans are among the fattest people in the world, and we use more drugs than just about every society on Earth. I remember seeing food pyramid charts in school, or stop smoking warnings, or got milk ads in magazines, but it doesn't really catch on. Why is it that the worst stuff for people doesn't really need advertising, and yet campaigns where broccoli consumption is aggressively touted fail miserably? I think deep down the people running these campaigns know that a societal change like you are talking about is not going to happen, because it goes against human nature, so they just try nanny everyone with ridiculous nonsense.

[Okeefenokee]

I think smoking is going down, though. I quit about a year and a half ago after more than a decade.